Independence Day II
by DrDoc
Summary: Twelve years after the alien invasion the world is recovering, but the emergence of a new disease, Alien Syndrome, and recently discovered alien survivors intent on harvesting Earth continue to threaten our existence.


**INDEPENDENCE DAY SEQUEL**

**A Sequel to Independence Day: The Movie written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich**

By Larry Kipp, Elizabeth Kipp and Mastin Kipp

Copyright 2012

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Colonel Steven Hiller, currently Commander of the Alien Flight

Technology Center at McClellan Airbase.

Dylan Hiller, Col. Hiller's adopted son, aged 17½.

Jasmine Hiller, Col. Hiller's wife

Dr. Margaret Henning, a former NASA physician and astronaut, and

former biathlon athlete.

Dr. David Levinson, MIT doctorate in Computer Science, Semiotics

and electronic gadgeteer.

Dr. Connie Levinson, Harvard doctorate in Political Science.

General William Gray (Ret.), Secretary of Alien Defense.

Captain William Bullock, a Special Operations Team leader.

Enid Whitman, Steve Hiller's aunt.

Combat Weathermen, Special Operations Command (SOCOM) weather

specialists who are tactical observer/forecasters with

ground combat capabilities.

Dr. Dulcus Okun, top geologist and paleogeologist.

He is the twin brother of Dr. Brackish Okun killed in Area

51 twelve years earlier but with opposite personality.

CHAPTER 1

The alien attack twelve years ago sent the world into chaos. The global economy collapsed and international trade halted as countries redirected resources inward to rebuild. Today resources are scarce. People already reverted to older forms of transport: wind, sail, bicycles and horseback. The world is a mix of old and new technologies.

Many humans who were close to an alien blast site at the time of the alien attacks are beset by "Alien Syndrome". This is a disease caused by rare-earth-contaminated fallout left by the alien ships' blast waves. The lucky ones died in the blast waves twelve years ago. Today people, especially children, continue to die a slow, painful and debilitating death caused by dissolution of the nervous system.

#

On this day Colonel Steven Hiller attends a friend's funeral for his late son. Afterwards, they discuss the killer, 'Alien Syndrome', and Hiller reveals that his son, Dylan, has it too. Hiller consoles his friend and leaves the cemetery.

#

Hiller arrives at the hospital and meets JASMINE. As they enter the consulting room, Hiller remembers the time when Dylan won his first soccer game ball and the celebration held after the game. Hiller has a tight fatherly bond with his stepson. They spent hours together honing Dylan's soccer skills, among other things. The doctor enters the room with a large file of test results and gives the diagnosis of 'advanced' Alien Syndrome. The prognosis is poor. Hiller and Jasmine are heartbroken. Hiller tries to steel his composure.

#

Dr. Henning goes to gather David Levinson at his laboratory to take him to a closed NSA meeting, where she will give a presentation of her research of the alien database. She finds him experiencing another electronic failure of an alien device. Levinson, relieved to take a break in his work, joins Henning and they walk down to the meeting room. Once there, Levinson goes to the podium and introduces Henning to everyone.

#

Margaret Henning, a former NASA physician and astronaut, and former biathlon athlete, speaks to an audience of civilians and high ranking officers. She relates what she has learned after eight years of studying the crashed alien Destroyer Ships that did not burn and their damaged computer databases. Her areas of expertise include alien biology, the alien's hive-like society and their technology.

A questioner from the audience asks about alien survivors. The NSA director immediately changes the subject to "permission codes"- the aliens' method of keeping control over their ships. This is Levinson's area of expertise, so he answers the Director's inquiry. Levinson states that the Mother Ship continuously sent a permission code that allowed the Destroyer Ships (DSs) to operate and continue flying. The DSs also emitted permission codes that allowed their respective fighter ships to fly. This is why the alien scout ship, captured at Area 51, activated twelve years earlier. A permission code was received when the Mother Ship arrived. Aliens keep control of their ships by turning off the codes for any ships that may pose a threat, an event thought common in hive-like societies.

#

That night, Levinson and his wife, Connie, go over to check on their friends, Hiller and his family, to see how they are coping with Dylan's deterioration. Hiller tells them that Jasmine has just been diagnosed with the early stage of Alien Syndrome too. They find that Hiller has moved his office from his regular spot at the McClellan airfield to a room in his home, so he can be at the ready to tend to Jasmine and Dylan. Hiller's home office is filled with medical books and journals, since he is doing everything he can to educate himself in order to help find a cure for Alien Syndrome. Hiller is Commander Alien Flight Technology at the airbase, so Levinson gets into a discussion with him about tinkering with the captured alien Scout Ship in the hanger at his airbase. Hiller reluctantly agrees to work with Levinson, but only later, after Jasmine urges her husband to go.

#

The next day Levinson meets Hiller at the airbase's hanger bay. Hiller watches Levinson install a permission code generator into the captured Scout Ship. They turn it on and the ship begins to hover. Hiller jumps inside and checks all the dials and confirms that the ship seems ready to fly. Hiller is pleased, but less so than Levinson expects. Levinson tries to lift Hiller out of his dark mood, but Hiller has no time for it. They agree to meet the next day.

#

That night Hiller discusses with Jasmine what he has found out about Alien Syndrome, and indicates he may have found some leads the doctors are not pursuing.

#

The next day Hiller and Levinson test the generator code with the alien scout ship on the ground. It works.

Levinson hooks up his computer and turns it on. "Good morning Dave" it says as Levinson rubs his hands together and begins to monitor the Permission Code Generator. He makes a few keystrokes, "Everything looks good" he says, smiling.

"Didn't they give you a new computer?" asks Hiller.

"Actually, with some help from Henning, I've upgraded this so it's top of the line, with 34 petabytes of alien crystalline memory to boot". Besides, there are no 'new' computers since the aliens had their way with us."

"Damn aliens" mutters Hiller as he turns the craft onto the runway and taxies towards the north end. He kicks up the speed a bit. "Still okay?" he asks.

"Yep" says Levinson, a clear, strong, constant signal.

Hiller then pilots limited flight tests over the airfield. The tests succeed. Hiller then decides "it's time to see what she can do" and pilots the ship toward the open air to put the ship through a battery of flight control tests. Heading southward, the ship climbs ever upward. The ship reaches the black sky of space and Hiller briefly remembers a happier past.

Looking down, Hiller gives Levinson a quick geography lesson, "Look, there's the Isthmus of Panama" he says, "and beyond that you can see northern South America." Hiller steers the craft towards the south east.

The ship cruises along. Levinson continues monitoring the Permission Code Generator and gives the thumbs up. Hiller has lowered the elevation somewhat so they can more clearly see Earth's landmarks.

"Here comes Bogota" says Hiller as he drops more altitude. They see a city unharmed by the aliens. Nearby can be seen the remains of a Destroyer Ship, Hiller slows and drops elevation and does a fly-by of the alien wreck. Then he gains altitude and speed and follows the western coastline of South America. "Next is Quito". As they zoom by they see a city in ruins, destroyed by the aliens twelve years ago. "Wow, looks worse than LA" says Levinson.

"Yeah, those mountains really confined the blast, look there's hardly any trees on the slopes" Hiller says.

As they travel south they find Lima and Santiago are similarly destroyed. Hiller and Levinson grow quiet. Soon they leave South America behind and approach Antarctica. Hiller hugs the coastline. "That's the Antarctic Peninsula we're coming up on now, and farther on, see those mountains? Those are the Trans Antarctic Mountains, and just below us now is West Antarctica, and up ahead on the other side of the mountains is the Ross Ice Shelf. Beyond that, under the sea, is the Terror Rift that separates the continents. Soon we'll pass New Zealand" says Hiller. "I had to learn all this geography for my NASA tests, but I'm not gonna talk about that". They grow quiet again.

"I just wish we could fix Dylan" says Hiller in a low voice. I hoped this sortie might pick me up, but after seeing those destroyed cities, and thinking about all the victims down there….." . Hiller stops speaking. "Those bastards" he whispers.

"What?" asks Levinson.

"Those alien bastards…killing Dylan, and maybe even Jasmine, too, " says Hiller.

"Yeah, well the aliens are all dead now, every last one of them" says Levinson. "Dylan's still alive, so he's got that on them".

"You bet, it ain't over till it's over" says Hiller. "Okay, we'll be coming up on Kiwi country soon. I'll take her down another 10,000 feet so you can get a good glimpse. "I had to know all this stuff when I took my NASA test, which we won't talk about" says Hiller raising his hand with the index finger extended.

Suddenly, green phaser fire flies past their ship. Hiller whips the ship into evasive maneuvers and tracks the source of the alien phaser. He reverses the ship's direction and moves down to a low level over Australia. He flies over the remains of Sydney and turns southeast over the sea, heading a bit south of the southern tip of New Zealand, keeping below the horizon of the enemy fire. Soon they come upon an island and green phaser fire begins anew. They evade the enemy fire, send a radio alert to his base and return home.

CHAPTER 2

Upon arrival at the airbase Hiller and Levinson find a Secret Service car and two secret service agents waiting for them. They are rushed to the Western White House near Sacramento and ushered into the President's Office. POTUS is with former General Gray, now the President's Secretary of Alien Defense. Hiller and Levinson relate their alien encounter. POTUS tells Gray to task the one remaining southern geosync satellite to scan south of the New Zealand area.

#

In the communications center of the Western Space Command, a technician gets a beep on the computer. The tech looks at the screen with alarm and phones in a report that an anomaly has been detected in the Ross Sea. While on the phone the tech interjects that not one, but three more anomalies show up in the Antarctic mountains. The 'anomalies' are identified as alien destroyer ships. The tech is then instructed to get detailed images of Campbell Island, SE of New Zealand; the island where Hiller and Levinson were fired upon.

Gen. Gray informs POTUS about the four alien DSs discovered near Antarctica and produces satellite images of an unknown base on Campbell Island. POTUS authorizes a S.O.C.O.M. scout team to be sent to Campbell Island and instructs his Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman to work up a nuclear strike option against the four DSs.

#

Captain William Bullock, a Special Operations Team leader gets a phone call . He is ordered to organize a scout team for Campbell Island to look for aliens.

Capt. Bullock and his team are in a submarine and make a night landing on Campbell Island. They set up two stealth observation posts (OPs), watch the alien base and record radio transmissions. Two nights later they break camp and move towards the beach. One of the OP teams is surprised and captured by some aliens. Bullock and his team, evading the aliens, manage to get to the sub. Bullock radios his data to SOCOM HQ in Sacramento. While the data link is still up, the sub is attacked and forced to surface. The aliens use a device to drag the sub onto the beach, cut a hole in its hull and extract the humans.

General Gray tells POTUS that the sub was attacked, but they did obtain some useful data. POTUS wants a plan devised to assault the alien camp on the island. POTUS requests that the general ask Hiller, Levinson and Henning for their insights as part of the attack planning team.

At a meeting, Levinson gives his analysis of the data obtained from the alien base. The majority of the data is geologic in nature, and strictly formatted, as is expected for a hive-like culture. The rest of the data appear to be medical in nature and have been forwarded to Dr. Henning for detailed analysis. Levinson suggests that if we capture the base, we should keep sending fake daily data reports to whoever is receiving them, in order to keep the appearance of normalcy at the alien base. He explains that he has a computer program that can accomplish this. Henning advises a daylight attack since the aliens are easily damaged by UV radiation and would tend to avoid exposure.

After the meeting Gen. Gray asks Hiller, Henning and Levinson to be the technical team that sets up the device Levinson mentioned in the meeting. Henning and Levinson agree, but Hiller declines.

#

When Hiller arrives home he finds Jasmine on the phone, talking with Dr. Henning. After the call, Jasmine encourages Hiller to go on the mission. Hiller urges that it's more important for him to 'find a cure' for Dylan and herself than any damn mission to a cold, faraway island. They go back and forth in this disagreement, with Hiller not budging. Jasmine concludes by saying that Henning may have new information on Alien Syndrome, and that there could be useful clues about the disease at the island. Hiller finally agrees to talk with Henning in the morning.

The next day Hiller is at his office reading a medical text when the phone rings. It's Jasmine giving Hiller Henning's phone number, since he left it on the kitchen table. Hiller writes it down and grudgingly thanks Jasmine. He hangs up. After thinking for a few minutes, Hiller grabs the phone and calls Henning. During the call Henning says that she is finished translating the alien medical messages from the island; they do contain specific information on Alien Syndrome. However, the message is so cryptic, only by capturing the island and seeing the alien's medical facility will she be able to make any conclusions. Hiller thanks Henning and directly calls Jasmine to tell her Henning's news.

#

Hiller's heart wrenches at the idea of leaving Dylan and Jasmine. He reminisces about earlier, happier days before Dylan was struck with illness and realizes how much his relationship with Dylan has grown since Hiller's marriage to Jasmine. He feels nauseous at the very thought of leaving Jasmine and Dylan. He realizes that there may be a sliver of hope for the future of his family, if he can only get enough information from the alien database to find enough clues to find a cure. Will the needed information come in time to save Dylan's, and now Jasmine's, lives? Are there any relevant data still to be found?

That night Hiller tells Jasmine about Henning's news. They debate about whether or not Hiller should stay or leave on the Campbell Island mission. Jasmine urges Hiller to go. Hiller finally agrees. He phones Gen. Gray to inform him that he is ready to accompany the technical team to Campbell Island.

#

Hiller greets his aunt Enid at the door to his house. Jasmine walks into the living room and greets Enid. She is an old, short, rotund woman with a face that tells you 'you better not be lying'. Jasmine looks tired and weak. Hiller takes Enid's luggage to the guest room, and then goes and visits Dylan in his room. They spend time talking, though Dylan talks with difficulty, and they say their good-byes. As Hiller leaves Dylan's room, he glances at Dylan's soccer game ball, prominently displayed on a shelf close to the room's door. He places his hand on it and lowers his head. Hiller fights back tears as he goes back to the living room to say good-bye to Jasmine and Aunt Enid.

#

The SOCOM engineer stealth team inserts onto Campbell Island. They create the camouflaged base required for Dr. Levinson's communication ruse with the aliens' Antarctic base. Once completed, the assault team and the technical team, including Hiller, Levinson and Henning are inserted onto the island. Levinson activates his communication ruse with the aid of some Combat Weathermen (SOCOM). Once it is running correctly, Levinson takes some aluminum foil and wraps it around his head like a skullcap. Hiller asks its purpose and Levinson replies that it may stop the alien ESP. Hiller suggests that a pyramid shape might be better.

#

As the attack begins. Three aliens, returning from a foray, enter from an unanticipated direction and discover the position holding Levinson's device. While the main assault team attacks the alien base, these three aliens capture the position using their ESP to subdue everyone. Levinson, protected by the aluminum foil, startles one of the aliens. This has the effect of releasing the alien's mind control of a Combat Weatherman, who takes the initiative and kills the alien. The two remaining aliens, defending themselves from Levinson and the SOCOM Weatherman, lose their mental control of the other soldiers. The soldiers regain their composure and fight the aliens, killing both of them. At the alien base, a member of the assault team disables an alien phaser cannon. The team takes control of the rest of the camp. The troops are surprised that they find only twelve aliens at the base.

The troops search the alien base. The base and its structures appear strange and organic. They find human captives alive, including Capt. Bullock with most of his team and some of the submarine crew. A search of the rest of the camp uncovers a room with a table and what appear to be medical tools and devices. Henning examines some vials and tells Hiller that these may be related to treating, or preventing, Alien Syndrome. The troops find the remains of animals and humans in another room. It's a kitchen. It is obvious that aliens ate humans as easily as they ate penguins.

That night, just before sunrise, a low persistent humming sound pervades the base. Levinson wakes up, goes outside and talks with a marine on guard. He points to and asks the guard about a 24 foot long cylinder eight feet high and laying on the ground in the shadows between two buildings. The guard is surprised by this discovery and calls an alert. Lights illuminate the entire camp as it awakes. Hiller and Henning see the device and start examining it. Captain Bullock calls the device a 'dirt diver' that disappears into the ground and returns once every three days or so. When Hiller leans against the side of the dirt diver, a door on it opens. He looks into the opening and finds it unoccupied. Upon inspection he discovers that the steering controls look almost exactly like the controls of the captured alien scout ship in his hanger back home at the airbase. "It must have been on automatic" he says.

Henning gets into the dirt diver, reads the dials and examines the engine. She declares that the craft really is a digging device, like a mechanical mole or terrestrial submarine. Asked how it can dig when there are no drills on the front, Henning discovers it uses teleportation, removing soil at the front and teleporting it to the rear, the craft moving forward in the process. Henning then examines the database inside the craft. She notes that the craft's last trip went 155 miles deep into the mantle and recorded plate tectonic measurements near the Terror Rift. She names the craft: "The Mole".

CHAPTER 3

Hiller gets a phone call and goes to the communications tent. Hiller hears the voice of Aunt Enid. She tells Hiller that Dylan is unconscious and only has a few days to live; Jasmine is also showing more signs of Alien Syndrome and has been hospitalized. Hiller asks Enid to tell Jasmine that they may have a way to treat Alien Syndrome. He then says goodbye.

#

Meanwhile, a Combat Weatherman comes running out from the communications tent and alerts the team that the Mole is sending out a signal. Levinson asks him to record it.

An hour later, while the technical team is still inside the Mole, alien fighters strafe the base. Bullock and two marines race to the Mole for cover. Only Bullock and one marine make it and find Hiller, Levinson, and Henning already inside.

Strafing fire hits the Mole again. Hiller takes the controls, starts it up, and drives the Mole into the ground. Once safely underground, Hiller teaches Levinson how to drive, "just in case" says Hiller.

While underway, Henning explores the Mole and finds two biosuits inside a cabinet. Levinson suggests they be left alone.

#

General Gray enters the Situation Room. He tells POTUS and the Joint Chiefs about the alien air assault on Campbell Island. General Gray reveals that there are now two DSs floating on the Ross Sea, with one of them firing its primary weapon continuously _into the ocean_. The other two DSs are still in the Trans-Antarctic Mountains.

#

Dr. Dulcus Okun, twin brother but with opposite personality, of Dr. Brackish Okun killed in Area 51 twelve years earlier, enters and is introduced by Gen. Gray as our top geologist and paleogeologist. Dr. Okun shows that the DS fire is directed at the Terror Rift-a weak spot in the Earth's mantle. At this location, below the mantle, is a huge reservoir of magma. Okun's guess is that the aliens are trying to open the rift and create a volcano … "a very big volcano". He figures that, from the alien's point of view, opening the Terror Rift wide enough could create an extinction event for mankind and warm the planet more to the aliens' liking.

POTUS says "They are still trying to exterminate us". He then asks if they might have shields. No one knows, but Gen. Gray doubts this. POTUS then authorizes a nuclear strike on the four DSs.

#

Aboard the USS Tennessee, one of the US Navy's remaining ballistic missile submarines, the captain receives an EAM (Emergency Action Message) instructing him to launch two ballistic missiles. The executive officer concurs and the sub launches the missiles towards the DSs in the Ross Sea.

#

Five stealth bombers are flying over the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. Each is carrying two nuclear armed missiles. The bombers start taking long range fire from two DSs. Two bombers are hit and go down in flames. Three of the bombers fire their missiles and depart. The DSs fire again and two of these bombers go down in flames. The missiles reach their target and the nuclear bombs explode. The pilot in the remaining bomber looks back and sees that the two DSs are still unaffected. While radioing this fact back to HQ, the bomber is hit and goes down in flames.

#

Hiller is by his son's bedside trying to wake him. Dylan does not respond. Hiller grabs Dylan and shakes him "wake up", "wake up!" "WAKE UP!" says Hiller. Hiller wakes and finds himself in the Mole. All is quiet but the hum of the craft. He realizes that everyone else is asleep too. He feels nauseous and more tired than usual. He realizes he is running out of oxygen! He checks the console map and steers the Mole to the nearest high spot. He then awakens everyone, with some difficulty. Once Henning is alert she rushes to the biosuits, pulls them out and activates them. The biosuits start scrubbing the air and it gets easier to breathe.

Twenty minutes later they arrive on the shore of New Zealand, near Dunedin. As they step out, fog and rain greet them. It is night. Bullock leaves to scout the surrounding area. Hiller gets on the radio and contacts HQ. HQ informs Hiller of the aliens' whereabouts and of the failed air and submarine nuclear strikes. Hiller is instructed to contact a New Zealand admiral who will make arrangements for them to sail the Mole back to California. They are all ordered to return to Sacramento. Then Hiller walks off.

Henning is using a hand-held computer and gets irritated. She tells Hiller that she is frustrated that she isn't making any progress on finding a treatment for Alien Syndrome. The only new information that she has is in her pocket. She pulls a vial and shows it to Hiller. But she has no idea what the vial of liquid does.

Hiller goes off by himself, kicking the ground. Henning starts talking about how good it will be to finally get a chance to shower and get into some clean clothes. Levinson expresses regret that the mission has been cut short.

Hiller returns with the marine walking in front of him. Hiller apologizes to Levinson and Henning and informs them that he is not returning with them. The aliens are killing his family and he feels he has nothing to live for anymore. He motions the marine to walk towards Henning and Levinson. The gun held by Hiller can now be seen. Hiller says that the city of Dunedin is not far away. Once they get to Dunedin, they can make arrangements to get back to Sacramento. Hiller moves towards the Mole. Bullock had also returned unknown to Hiller and, while still in the shadows, has heard Hiller's remarks. He now rushes Hiller and disarms him. Bullock sits on top of Hiller and says, "you're not going without me, Sir. I've got a score to settle, too."

The others agree with Bullock, and together, they start discussing a plan. Henning has a hunch that the Mole should be able to penetrate the DSs hull, just like it digs through the earth. Bullock goes back into the shadows and retrieves some groceries he bought at a local convenience store. They eat as they plot out their course for their trip in the Mole, based on available air supply. They discuss the need for food and water supplies. Henning talks more about the data she has decoded from the alien base at the island, and surmises that the aliens have information regarding a cure for Alien Syndrome in the DS's undamaged computer base. She also mentions that there may be far fewer aliens manning these DSs than usual. She proposes that Earth's environment, the aliens' shortage of biosuits, and the Antarctic cold may have taken its toll on the aliens' ship's populations. Hiller goes back into the Mole and they hear him talking to someone on the radio. Henning then starts talking about the interior of the DS, where the best place would be to insert the Mole, and asks Bullock for advice on assault tactics. Hiller returns from the Mole and everyone looks at him. The group decides they have a plan that could work. They get into the Mole and begin the first leg of the journey.

CHAPTER 4

A few hours later the team arrives at Macquerie Island. They are met by some Australian weather station personnel. One Aussie gives the team food and water supplies, a shotgun, a target rifle, ammo, some TP, a flare gun and some aluminum foil. The team eats a hot meal. During the meal's conversation Henning learns that Hiller had called ahead for these supplies. Finished eating they say their goodbyes and get into the Mole and depart.

A few hours later they are nearing Bellamy Island. A warning light goes off on the console indicating that the island they are headed to is now erupting. Hiller identifies another island about 70 miles further south. The console map shows magma moving towards this island too, but still pretty far away. They head for it. An hour later they arrive at the island. They open the door to blasts of very cold air and blowing snow. Everyone gets out and makes a pit stop, since they need to keep the door open for at least half an hour to exchange the air. While Hiller pees, he feels the ground shake and hears a low pitched rumble roll across the island. He says: "Humph! Not even a four pointer". At the far end of the island magma erupts, sending steam and smoke into the air. He rushes back to the Mole and climbs inside. At the console Hiller sees other areas on the console map blinking orange, indicating additional volcanic activity. The crew returns one by one and they depart hurriedly for the Terror Rift.

#

Six hours later they arrive at the Terror Rift sea floor area. They hear a loud rumbling and see that the water glows a flickering, dull eerie green. The Mole rises to the surface. Hiller points the Mole towards the nearest DS still floating on the water, which happens to be the one that's firing. Everyone places aluminum foil on their head, like a skullcap. The Mole moves through the water slowly, and finally makes contact with the DS hull. "I guess the mole can get through the shields" says Henning. The Mole goes through the hull, but very slowly. Finally the console indicates that the Mole is almost completely through the hull. Hiller stops the Mole so its body acts like a cork to keep the sea water out. The Mole door opens into a hallway filled with warm green mist and a disagreeable odor.

They meet two aliens not wearing biosuits. The aliens flee. Henning notes that the aliens are weaker without their biosuits, probably due to the higher gravity on the planet as compared to when they are in Space. After shouldering the Aussie's target rifle, Henning, being the only one in the group that's actually been on DSs, recognizes where they are and leads the way to the Control Room, 17 stories up. On the way they meet another alien, in a biosuit. The alien attacks. Bullock and the marine shoot the alien. The alien falls dead.

The team is at an intersection when an energy shield goes up, separating Hiller and the marine from the others. Henning gives Hiller directions for an alternative route. They then separate.

Henning leads her group to the entrance of the Control Room. As they prepare to enter, Bullock hands Levinson the shotgun. Levinson balks, claiming ignorance about weapons. Henning gives him the flare gun instead saying "just point and shoot".

Meanwhile, Hiller and the marine run into some aliens in biosuits who attack them. The marine kills the aliens. Hiller encounters another enemy shield blocking his path and gets another idea. He reverses tracks and goes to the nearby hanger bay. The bay is enormous, stretching upwards 15 or 20 stories. Rows of catwalks line the two sides of the bay, where some 120 fighters are docked, nose first, into fittings projecting from the walls. The room could easily hold 500 fighters. Hiller surmises that the rest were shot down during the battle eight years ago. At the far end is a wide-open bay door at floor level, but shuttered with a force field. Above the far end are catwalks and odd-looking devices that Hiller assumes are maintenance machines of some sort. Once inside the hanger bay, he spots a fighter hovering just above the floor. Its canopy is open, so he gets into it. Hiller engages the fighter's controls, but gets no response. The marine leans against the hovering fighter and it starts to rotate. Just then, two aliens enter the fighter bay. Hiller instructs the marine to push the tail of the floating fighter left in order to point the fighter's weapons towards the right and at the aliens. Once the weapons are properly aimed, Hiller fires, killing the aliens.

#

Bullock tosses a flash-bang grenade into the Control Room. Boom! Bullock and his cohorts rush in, being careful not to hit any controls. Henning and Bullock kill six aliens not wearing biosuits and sitting at consoles. Levinson rushes to a console and plugs in his computer. He explains to Henning that his computer has an alien memory crystal which can store 44 petaabytes of data. Impressed, Henning scans her console and starts identifying files to be downloaded into Levinson's computer.

More aliens, all in biosuits, continue entering the fighter bay. The marine 'aims' the fighter and Hiller shoots. The method is slow, but effective, killing most of the aliens. A pair of aliens separate and manage to climb out of Hiller's horizontal line of fire.

#

Henning notices an amber light flashing from her console. She taps the amber area and a screen appears displaying the firefight in the hanger bay. She makes radio contact with Hiller. Hiller relays that he has spotted a scout ship to use for their escape. She tells Hiller that she will bring her group to him as soon as she can. "Just hold on 'til we get there". Henning then identifies the hallway force fields control switches on the console and turns them off.

Henning finds the medical files relating to alien syndrome, including one on drug synthesis. She tags them for downloading. At that moment, four aliens enter and start firing. They are all in biosuits but one of them towers over the others as if it was a different caste of alien. Levinson ducks down behind his console while Bullock gets up and decks an alien in three synchronized moves, killing it. The large alien attacks Bullock and he drops to the floor, seemingly dead. The big alien then moves towards Henning, who is standing, and wraps one of his tentacles around her neck. Enraged, Levinson stands up, surprising the aliens, and fires his flare gun at the big alien. The flare zips past the alien and embeds itself in a console on the far side wall. The DS shudders and starts to roll.

The large alien shouts in Alienese, releases Henning and rushes towards the damaged console trying to make adjustments. Bullock's shotgun, on the counter near one of the aliens, begins sliding towards Henning. She grabs it and fires at the two smaller aliens, knocking them down. She looks at Levinson, already detaching his computer from the console. They go to Bullock and find him dead. They run out of the room. The large alien is still busy at the controls and the tilting of the DS has slowed considerably, but not stopped.

After a fear-filled run down the hall, Levinson and Henning arrive at the same ladder tube Hiller used to get into the fighter bay. The DS continues to tilt, so Henning and Levinson must adjust their movements to the shifting angle of the floor. They climb down, always looking back for aliens, and come to the entrance of the fighter bay. They see Hiller and the marine still in a fire fight with the aliens in the fighter bay. The ship's floor continues to tilt, so everyone is adjusting their footing to compensate. Henning spots two aliens high up on a catwalk, making their way down and behind Hiller and the marine. Henning un-shoulders the target rifle, loads and takes aim. The first shot wounds one alien. The second and third shots kill them both. All of the aliens in the hanger bay lay dead and the DS's tilt continues to increase.

Henning and Levinson approach Hiller's fighter and find him badly wounded in the shoulder. They help him out and they head for the scout ship. Once inside, Levinson goes beneath the dashboard and installs a permission code generator. Hiller tells him he has to drive. Levinson balks. Hiller reminds him it's just like driving the Mole, only different. They see a large alien in a biosuit, carrying a menacing looking weapon, rush into the fighter bay and hop onto the outside wing of their craft. Hiller pushes one of the two steering handles. The craft spins rapidly around, throwing the alien off-balance and he tumbles onto the floor. Levinson returns to the driver's seat and begins taxiing, fighting the still growing tilt of the DS. The alien stands and aims the weapon at the craft. A fighter falls from its storage space above due to the increasing tilt of the DS and crashes onto the alien. The alien's shot goes wild. Levinson zooms out of the DS just as all of the other fighters on that side come crashing down out of their storage places.

About 75 fighters from the other three DSs are waiting for the Scout Ship and start shooting at it.

Levinson steers to evade and the four DSs come into view. The DS they just exited now hovers over the water about a mile up; the other three DSs remain floating on the water with all four DSs continuously firing their primary weapons. 'The water probably keeps the weapons cool' thinks Levinson. The one they just exited is on the left end, rising and tilting. Its weapon beam nears the adjacent DS. The beam makes contact with that DS. The beam slices into the DS. The targeted DS stops firing its primary weapon and breaks into two. The other two DSs start to rise as the pieces of the destroyed DS crash into the sea. Hiller notes that the fighters from the sliced DS drop out of the sky, commenting that their permission codes have been revoked.

Levinson asks Henning to turn on his computer and open a file called 'justincase'. Levinson asks Hiller to reach into his pocket and pull out a wire antenna, which Hiller does after some protest. Hiller gives the wire to Henning. She plugs one end into Levinson's computer and places the other end near the window. Levinson instructs Henning to run the program. She does. They look at the two rising DSs and think Levinson's program is not working. Suddenly the DSs both stop firing. Their fighters are still in pursuit and firing at them. "I just revoked their permission codes" says Levinson with a smile.

An enormous explosion of steam erupts from the sea. Then another explosion, this one of red lava, leaps into the air and on its return to the Earth covers the two DSs and they become weighed down by it. The pursuing fighters suddenly drop from the sky. The eruption continues as the Scout Ship escapes toward California.

#

Hiller watches an unconscious Dylan in a bed roll past him and into the Operating Room. The doctor walks down the hallway to Hiller. They shake hands. The doctor tells Hiller that he is going to perform a new and experimental procedure on Dylan based on Henning's data taken from the alien ship, and has hopes that this procedure will work… "along with this 'magic potion' Dr. Henning gave me" The doctor shows Hiller the vial Henning took from the alien base at Campbell Island.

CHAPTER 5

Henning sits in her office, sipping tea and examining the alien downloaded data files. Suddenly she peers at the screen, dropping her teacup and gasps, "OOOOOO… Noooooooo!"

#

Hiller tends Jasmine in their living room. His arm is in a sling. Aunt Enid sits next to him. He squeezes Jasmine's hand, says a few words, kisses her and heads for Dylan's room. Hiller sees Dylan sleeping, one arm cradling his soccer game ball. Dylan's head is bandaged. Hiller sits down next to him and grabs Dylan's hand. He stares at Dylan. After a while Hiller falls asleep, still holding Dylan's hand.

Dylan wakes up and sees his dad. Dylan wakes him, saying "Dad", "Dad?", "Dad!" Hiller opens his eyes. When he hears and sees Dylan talking, his eyes widen and he jumps for joy. He turns around and yells "Jasmine!"

#

Henning is sitting in the Situation Room giving a presentation to POTUS and the Joint Chiefs. "The good news is that the Terror Rift volcanic activity has finally slowed down. The bad news…."

Henning tells those assembled that the so-called Mother Ship THAT VISITED Earth eight years ago was just an alien attack carrier. The **REAL** Mother Ship carries 560 million aliens and will arrive in five years, nine months and 28 days.

#

Just beyond the Oort Cloud ringing Earth's outer solar system, an alien attack carrier is moving in Earth's direction. The alien attack carrier becomes dwarfed by an enormous Mother Ship following behind it.

END


End file.
